Twilight
by sylie
Summary: As evil looms on the horizon, two senshi find love, three search for answers, two find much more than they bargained for, two find out what they're really worth, and one tries to save them all.
1. Chapter 1

Dear Reader,

First off, hello! Thank you for taking the time to read "Twilight," my original Sailor Moon fanfic!

The following story is a sequel to my other fanfic, "Refract," which you can read at: www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/s/3519889/1/Refract.

This story takes place several months after "Refract" ended, though the exact amount of time between the two stories is not important. What is important, however, is that you know that both stories contain an original character, Apollo, who is the (older) twin sister of Serenity, general of the Moon's army, head of training the princess-senshi, and the lucky recipient of a life pretty much full of drama and some hilarity. Although she's the focus of "Refract," she's much less so the center of attention in "Twilight."

In fact, this story will touch on the lives of all the senshi, which means that it will be far more expansive in scope than "Refract" was. The chapters will be longer and, in addition to the main plot, there will be several subplots. That being said, I will try to update as regularly as possible so as to ensure no confusion on your part.

Now for the disclaimer: this story IS mature in content. There is strong language, sex scenes (mostly of the lesbian variety, but I might throw some heterosexual ones in there, too), and violence. However, I will try to handle all three elements tastefully by weaving them into the story as integral parts of it.

Lastly, Sailor Moon and everything associated with it are the property of Naoko Takeuchi.

Enjoy!

sylie

* * *

**TWILIGHT**

The sun streaming through the windows and onto the bed was what woke Apollo from her deep and satisfying slumber. She yawned leisurely, sitting up slightly to fully take in the sight of Ami curled up naked beside her. Smiling, Apollo lightly pushed back Ami's bangs and leaned down to kiss the Mercurian's lips, causing Ami to open her eyes and sigh contentedly.

"Good morning," breathed Ami, also sitting up before leaning in close to kiss Apollo. "Have you been awake for long?"

"No, I just woke up," answered Apollo, twisting slightly to grab Ami's hips and pull the smaller girl towards her. Ami got the hint and straddled Apollo's lap, blushing slightly as their two naked bodies touched. "But I am quite hungry." Apollo squeezed Ami's butt and pulled her even closer, gently sinking her teeth into the curve connecting Ami's neck and left shoulder. Guided by her girlfriend's moans, Apollo slipped a hand between Ami's thighs and smirked when she heard a sharp gasp.

* * *

A chill ran down Queen Serenity's spine as she heard the door to her meeting chamber open and close. She could feel the hunched old man's stare on the back of her head, and upon turning around, she was not surprised to find him wringing his hands and refusing to look away as a sign of respect for the royal; Queen Serenity had long ago stopped expecting Orpheus to bow to her, but his unique skills saved him from any disciplinary action. 

As usual, the archmage was dressed in a black cloak, his long black hair sleek and shiny in the morning sunlight. Orpheus cleared his throat and hissed, "Good day, my Queen."

Resisting the urge to sneer, Queen Serenity responded, "Good morning, Orpheus. You wanted to see me?"

"Yes, my Queen. I received a disturbing prophecy earlier."

"Earlier?" Queen Serenity raised an eyebrow, fully aware that 'earlier' would have cut into Orpheus's precious beauty sleep.

"Yes, when the sun was rising."

The unease Queen Serenity had been sensing for nearly a month suddenly intensified; the regular communication she had had with the Queen of the Sun had recently decreased in frequency, and for the past few days there had been no interstellar telegrams sent to the Moon from the Sun. Initially believing that the Sun Queen had simply been too busy lately, Queen Serenity now conceded that perhaps something more sinister was afoot.

However, she did not reveal any of this to Orpheus, though she assumes that he probably knew already anyway. Instead. Queen Serenity motioned to two high-back chairs and said, "Please, Orpheus, let us sit down and you can tell me about all that you saw."

"Very well." Orpheus sat down before the Queen, irking her immensely. "As I said, this prophecy came to me as the sun was rising. Very many prophecies come under the cover of dreams, but this one was unusual because it continued even after I had awoken."

"What did you see?" Queen Serenity asked impatiently.

"The great palace of the Sun in ruins and its people dead or dying." Queen Serenity gasped, tears forming in her eyes. "But I believe in can be stopped, my Queen."

"You do not believe that it has already happened?"

"No, my Queen. The vision was too blurry, its details too hazy. This particular future has yet to be set in stone."

"You're sure about this, Orpheus?"

"Yes, my Queen. None of my mages have yet felt the extinguishing of a thousand souls."

Queen Serenity stood up and walked over to the window, looking down to see her youngest daughter sleeping in the garden, her head in her fiancé's lap. This, Queen Serenity knew, was why she had defied convention and chosen the younger twin as her heir; this, Queen Serenity knew, was the self-sacrificing mission her unplanned older daughter had been doomed to go on from the moment she was born: there were just too many reasons why she was the best choice to lead the inevitable military expedition. Still, did it have to be this way?

Covertly wiping tears from her eyes, Queen Serenity turned to Orpheus, who nodded as if to answer her unspoken question. Composing herself regally even while inwardly she felt her heart begin to break, Queen Serenity looked back outside towards the Sun and said, "Thank you, Orpheus, for telling me. I will inform Apollo of her mission immediately."

* * *

Waking from her nap, Princess Serenity brought her hand up to shield her eyes from the late morning sun. Endymion smiled down at her and she responded with a sheepish grin, joyful at knowing that in a few months' time, her fiancé could stay in her bed all night long instead of having to sneak out early in the morning, accidentally waking up Serenity every time. 

Her mother should have been to blame for all the sneaking around, but the Queen was surprisingly accepting of the physical nature of Serenity and Endymion's relationship. No, instead it was Apollo who was keen on protecting her younger sister's superficial purity from anyone who might potentially defile it.

'Hypocrite,' Serenity mused, knowing that the only reason Apollo hadn't caught Endymion last night (he had stupidly knocked on Serenity's bedchamber door, surprised to find it already open and even more surprised to find his fiancée at his side, smacking him viciously on the shoulder even as she quietly closed the door behind him) was because the more isolated and withdrawn twin had herself been busy with someone else's supposed purity.

Looking up at the Queen's meeting chamber, Serenity watched her mother stand at and stare out the window, but the heir let her hand drop and the sun invade her vision before the two women made eye contact. Serenity closed her eyes, eliciting a hearty chuckle from Endymion. She was tired, even more so than usual, but Serenity couldn't bring herself to blame her twin; besides the fact that deep down Serenity knew Apollo was only trying to protect her, lately Apollo had been in a great mood, and Serenity felt it foolish to try to ruin her sister's new upbeat attitude.

All the princesses, palace staff, and even the military members had noticed the change in Apollo's demeanor, as well as the more confident manger with which Ami now carried herself. 'Good thing they stopped being as stubborn as I usually am,' Serenity thought, sighing contentedly as Endymion brushed her bangs from her face. 'I don't think I've seen Apollo this happy since I visited at the Su—"

The searing pain that suddenly stabbed through her right temple caused Serenity to sit up quickly, opening her eyes to find that she was momentarily blinded, the upside-down crescent moon on her forehead glowing violently.

* * *

"Gods, Ami," Apollo panted, relishing in the sensation of Ami's tongue slipping down past her navel. As she watched Ami's face disappear between her thighs, Apollo arched her back, pushing the crown of her head in the pillow and closing her eyes in pure ecstasy. 

As her hips began to buck, Apollo's entire body became warmer and the black of her eyelids was replaced with yellow, orange, and red bursts of light materializing and then popping seconds later. Delicate yet surprisingly strong hands pushed down on her pelvis, and the warmth of Apollo's body only intensified as she careened nearer and nearer to climax.

When Ami finally pushed Apollo over the edge, the warmth completely enveloped the blonde's body and the colors popping before her covered eyes coagulated into a clear vision of the Sun Palace's ballroom, Apollo's longtime mentor and namesake lying lifeless on the floor, blood spiraling out from her battered body.

Misinterpreting the reason for it, Ami smiled to herself as she heard her lover let out a deafening and seemingly never-ending scream.

* * *

"Oh gods, oh gods!" Serenity was running through the palace halls alone, the crescent moon still pulsing uncomfortably. "What _was_ that?!" 

"What was what?"

Serenity skidded to a halt directly in front of Apollo, who was standing at the Queen's bedchamber door, fist raised, ready to knock.

"Apollo!" Serenity threw her arms around her sister's neck. "I'm so glad you're okay! I thought something had happened to you!"

"Something did."

"It did?"

"Yes," Apollo answered, wriggling out of Serenity's grasp. "How did you know I would be here?"

"I didn't. I came here because something happened to me, too."

The twins were now facing each other, their gazes locked. Serenity saw that her older sister's irises were now a deep, impenetrable black, flashes of blood red streaking across them every so often, and her touch was improbably hot; Serenity's hands, Apollo noticed, were cold as ice, and the outline of the crescent moon was unnaturally visible on her forehead. Even with no words exchanged between them, Apollo knew that her twin had experienced something similar to what she had just witnessed. "What did you see, Serenity?"

"I don't know. Something. I was resting outside and then—"

"You got really hot and you saw—"

"No. No, I got cold. And I felt empty, as if some part of me had died. And then I saw an outline of you on the ground in the palace and everything went black again."

Shaking off the notion that the version of herself in Serenity's vision might have been dead, Apollo said, "That's definitely not what I saw."

"What did you see?"

"The Sun Palace and Queen A—"

"What are the two of you doing here?" Queen Serenity was standing in the doorway of the next room over wearing a worried expression on her face, arms folded across her chest.

"Mom!" Serenity exclaimed, running forward. "Apollo and I both--!"

The appearance of Orpheus at Queen Serenity's side caused the younger Serenity to stop dead in her tracks, her unfinished sentence hanging in the awkward silence. Ignoring her, Orpheus stared at Apollo, eschewing all pleasantries and announcing authoritatively, "You had a vision."

Apollo grimaced, hating that Orpheus was right. "Yes, sir," she spat.

"And you," Orpheus continued, pointing at Serenity. All three women's expressions belied their confusion; never before had Orpheus addressed Princess Serenity voluntarily, preferring instead to focus all his attention on Apollo, whom he had long ago deemed more talented in all respects. "You had a subsidiary vision."

"A what?" Serenity asked, and Apollo barely suppressed her laughter as Orpheus looked aghast that not everyone knew about his precious mage terminology.

"A subsidiary vision, you stupid girl."

"Hey!" pouted Serenity.

"Orpheus…" Queen Serenity warned.

"I am not stupid!"

Sensing that one of her sister's classic tantrums was rapidly forming, Apollo shot Orpheus a dirty look before putting her hand on Serenity's shoulder and explaining, "It means you had a less detailed vision that was feeding off the primary vision."

"The primary vi—?"

"Mine," Apollo answered quickly before Orpheus seized the chance to further insult her sister.

"Both of you definitely had visions?" Queen Serenity asked. The twins nodded in unison. "Come in here, we all need to discuss this. You too, Orpheus." As soon as the door had slammed, Queen Serenity rounded on Orpheus and demanded, "It is even possible for Serenity to be having visions?"

"If the primary vision was strong and clear enough, then yes." Orpheus again stared at Apollo, this time with a look of intense suspicion. Apollo stared right back, daring her long-time teacher to read her mind; despite the fact that much of her childhood was spent under Orpheus's tutelage, Apollo didn't trust the archmage whatsoever.

"Apollo?"

"Yes, Mother?" Apollo responded respectfully, breaking eye contact with Orpheus. She knew the question that was coming, and her brain started working quickly to think of a veiled answer that wouldn't reveal too much to Orpheus about what she had seen or felt. Apollo did not hear but only saw her mother mouth the words: Was your vision particularly strong and clear?

"I'm not sure."

"How can you not be sure?"

Apollo shot a glance towards Serenity, the hint of a smirk playing along her lips. "I was…preoccupied at the time."

Queen Serenity arched an eyebrow judgmentally, eying Apollo's disheveled hair and clothing. "I see."

"All I definitely know is that it had to do with the Sun."

"But mine didn—" Serenity choked back a sob as Apollo stealthily stepped on her toes. The younger sister shot a dirty look towards her older sister, but the look on Apollo's face silenced any protests Serenity was about to utter; an understanding passed between them, and Serenity realized that Apollo had some good reason for not wanting anyone to know that Serenity's vision was any different from Apollo's.

"What was that?" asked Orpheus, glaring at the twins, trying to figure out why Serenity had cut herself off mid-sentence. For a split second, Apollo saw an expression of intense fear on Orpheus's face, but before she could properly assess what she had seen, Orpheus composed himself.

"Nothing," said Serenity. "I was just going to say that mine wasn't clear either, but it also had to do with the Sun."

"Considering the fact that you have never before exhibited mage abilities, that was an exemplary subsidiary vision," Orpheus leered, causing the twins to shudder.

Before Orpheus could continue or either of her daughters could respond, Queen Serenity got back into the conversation, asking, "What did you see happen at the Sun, Apollo?"

The request brought the images back into Apollo's mind in complete clarity, and it took all of her strength not to wince or show any emotion as she re-witnessed what was surely a massacre. "Destruction," she answered plainly, her voice hollow and emotionless. "Ruin. Death."

"Just as I feared. Orpheus," the Queen said, looking at the archmage resignedly. "We now have even more confirmation of what must be done. Apollo," Queen Serenity whispered, looking at the ground for the first time and sighing deeply. "I opened the door earlier because I was planning on going to inform you of the fact that you are being sent on a mission."

"Excuse me, Mother?"

"Mom, what are you—"

"I was hesitant at first, but what you and Serenity just experienced only reinforces my decision to send you."

"Send me where, Mother?" asked Apollo, knowing the answer but not daring herself to believe it.

"The Sun, Apollo. You're going to save everyone before it's too late."


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2_

"You can't do this! You can't send her there!" Exhibiting unprecedented tact, Orpheus had left the meeting chamber, allowing Queen Serenity and her daughters to move to the Queen's bedchamber, Serenity screaming the whole way there and inside, Apollo silent at her side.

"Serenity…" Apollo started, her voice trembling.

"This must be done, Serenity. No one else has the expertise to successfully lead this mission."

"I don't care about the stupid mission! She might not come back from it!" Serenity screamed, tears streaming down her face.

For a moment, a look of fear crossed Queen Serenity's face. Nevertheless, she protested, "There is no certainty of that happening, Serenity. Apollo is capable enough of defending herself."

"But I saw—"

"Serenity, if I don't go, everyone at the Sun will die," Apollo finally said.

"How do you know they're not dead already, Apollo? You saw it! You saw them all dead!"

"I—"

"Orpheus also envisioned the massacre at the Sun," Queen Serenity stated. "He is sure that what he received was a prophecy."

"And how do we even know Apollo can stop it? What if she can't?" Serenity raised her voice hysterically. "Mom, she's going to die! YOU'RE SENDING MY ONLY SISTER TO DIE!"

Queen Serenity gasped, visibly shaken by the accusation, tears shimmering in her eyes. She opened her mouth as if to retaliate, and the twins stared at their mother, certain that something horrible was about to happen. Apollo looked back at Serenity, who was breathing heavily, and again at her mother, certain that she had never before seen the two women argue like this before. Typically it was Apollo who clashed with her mother, and Serenity always chose to sit the argument out; now, however, Apollo was speechless at the audacity of her sister. Apparently, Queen Serenity was also amazed at this reversal of her daughters' roles because her response to Serenity was a simple: "Enough." She turned away, dropping her shoulders resignedly. "Get out."

"What?" both girls said in unison.

"Get. Out," Queen Serenity hissed, leaving her two stunned daughters to watch her retreating form, their jaws dropped.

* * *

"Shit, Serenity, we've really done it now." Apollo was gently pulling her distraught and sobbing sister by the arm, trying to navigate the both of them back to the wing where their bedchambers were located. "Mother is going to kill us." 

"One of us, anyway," Serenity sniffled, pulling free from Apollo and rooting herself to the spot.

"Serenity…" Apollo said warningly, rounding on her sister. "Stop saying that. I'm not going to die."

"But I saw it! I saw you lying on the grou—mmphm!" The last syllable came out muffled as Apollo jumped forward and slapped a hand over Serenity's mouth.

"Sshh!" Apollo hissed, her eyes darting left and right, wary of anyone nearby. "Not here!"

Serenity nodded vigorously, and Apollo took her hand away. "Is that why you stepped on my foot earlier? You don't want anyone to know what I saw?"

"Yes. Now come on." Apollo grabbed at Serenity's arm again, though this time the younger twin linked her arm through her older sister's arm, and they walked together in sync through the labyrinthine hallways. "We're going to have to go somewhere private, like my bedcham—no, no, your's. Let's go to your's."

"What was that? Why can't we go to your bedchamber?"

"Um..." A deep blush blossomed on Apollo's cheeks. "It's messy."

"Mm-hm," Serenity mocked, jabbing her sister playfully in the ribs. "I'm sure it's a right old _blue _mess."

"Oh, shut up!"

As the two stopped in front of Serenity's bedchamber door, the younger girl turned to Apollo and smiled sadly. "I'm really going to miss you, big sister."

"Not as much as I'll miss you, little sister."

Serenity knew that her sister was innocently challenging her, trying to recreate the levity associated with a different time in their lives, but she didn't take the bait; the more minutes that passed, Serenity realized, the more the reality of the situation weighed down upon her. She stared at Apollo, wondering how it must feel right now to be her sister, to know that almost certain death was waiting for you.

"Serenity?"

"What?" Serenity shook her head in an attempt to clear her mind.

"The door?" Apollo pointed at it impatiently.

"Oh. Right." Serenity opened the door and both girls walked in, Serenity throwing herself on the bed, Apollo flopping down into a nearby chair.

"Tell me what you saw." Apollo leaned forward and pushed the mattress with her foot.

"Bah!' Serenity exclaimed, jolting awake. "Sorry, Apollo, I didn't get much sleep last night." Apollo raised an eyebrow disapprovingly. "Uh, anyway. I told you before. I saw an outline of you lying on the ground in this palace. That's all."

"Are you sure it was this palace?"

"Yes. I think it was the ballroom."

"There was a ballroom in my vision, too, Serenity."

"No, Apollo, it was definitely here! Why won't you believe me?!"

"Because what you experienced was impossible until it happened."

"Aren't most things impossible until they happen?"

Apollo smiled. "Now's not the time to sharpen your wit, Serenity. What I mean is that no one, not any of the mages, not even Aurora, has been able to prophesize a single aspect of my life." Apollo paused, gritting her teeth. "Besides Orpheus."

"I thought he said I had a subsidiary vision?"

"Yes, but that was when he thought your vision also took place at the Sun and had to do entirely with what I saw. Technically, it's impossible for you to have a subsidiary vision independent in content from the primary vision."

"But I definitely had it, and it took place in this palace."

"I know, and mine at the Sun's. So whatever vision you had must have occurred of your own volition. At first I thought it was because you were still somehow feeding off the power of my vision but were unable to focus your energy correctly, but…" Apollo paused. "Maybe it had something to do with our being twins." The thought that she had just expressed came to her seemingly out of nowhere; wasn't it likely that the bond she and Serenity shared as a result of their unusual birth gave both girls extraordinary powers in regards to each other?

"What are you getting at?"

"I don't know, Serenity, something's not right. Orpheus told me long ago that he was the only one powerful enough to predict my future, but now I'm not so sure."

"Do you think he was lying?" Serenity sat up and crawled over to the edge of her bed, sitting down and curling her knees up to her chest.

"Perhaps. I never trusted him, but maybe he just never really thought anyone else could actually comprehend the linear time progression of someone who doesn't actually exist." Serenity winced; no matter how often she was reminded of it, the fact that her own sister was, by all technical accounts, just a figment of their collective imaginations, a corporeal being buoyed by everyone's belief in her existence, still made Serenity shudder with dread. Apollo pretended not to notice. "No, I'm more interested in a possible connection between us, something deeper than normal twins have."

"So what do you think it means?"

"I'm not sure, Serenity, and unfortunately we don't have enough time to figure it out. But you have to promise me something." Apollo stood up and grabbed Serenity's shoulders, looking her sister straight in the eyes.

"Anything."

"No matter when I leave or where I go, you must let me know if you see something else."

"So you think I had an actual prophecy of you dying?"

Apollo heard the fear in Serenity's voice and decided immediately that the subject she had been attempting to broach would have to be done on her own time and in solitude. "No, no, I told you, I think you were still feeding off my vision. But the mere fact that I was in your vision means that you have some latent mage powers in connection with my existence. Does that make sense?"

"Yes. As long as what I saw doesn't come true…"

"It won't, Serenity, don't worry. There have been hundreds of prophecies that were modified or simply did not come to pass." Apollo smiled, gesturing to Serenity and herself. "Just look at our birth as the perfect case study."

* * *

Closing the door behind her, Apollo walked a few steps down the hall and slumped against the wall, burying her face in her hands. Somehow, she had managed to hold herself together long enough to convince Serenity that her vision had only been the product of the blood connection between the two of them, but the truth was that, despite believing that their sisterly bond had indeed produced the first prophecy about Apollo not made by Orpheus, the older Moon princess had no idea if what her younger sister had seen would come to pass. 

'What if she was wrong about where it took place?' Apollo thought. 'She's only been to the Sun once, the palaces are similar enough, she could have gotten them confused!' Instantly, Apollo started hyperventilating, a panic attack causing her knees to buckle, sending her to the cold floor. "Gods!" Apollo whispered loudly. "What if this is _it_?"

"Is what?" Ami came around and the corner, and the broad smile on her face disappeared the moment she saw a pale and trembling Apollo lying on the ground. "Apollo! Oh my gods, honey, what happened to you!"

Trying to steady her voice but failing to stop her hyperventilation, Apollo answered, "Nothing."

"Now is not the time to try to lie to me, you hardhead." Kneeling down, Ami crawled under Apollo's right arm and, with surprising strength, stood up, holding onto a still-weak Apollo. "Come on."

* * *

"Ami, this isn't necessary. I'm fine." 

"Perhaps in your own head, Apollo." Ami sat down on the bed beside Apollo. "What were you talking to yourself about anyway?" She leaned forward, patting Apollo's forehead with a cold compress. "And why did you leave so abruptly earlier?"

"I know what will make me feel better," Apollo teased, reaching her hand out towards Ami's cleavage.

"Don't change the subject," Ami objected, lighting slapping away Apollo's hand. "What's going on?" The blonde opened her mouth to protest but Ami interrupted, "Please, Apollo."

Sitting up and pulling Ami towards her, Apollo kissed the younger girl, her hands squeezing the Mercurian's waist. Once she had gotten her fill and felt that Ami must have, too, Apollo broke the kiss, stared right into Ami's eyes, and said, "Really, Ami, it's nothing."

"You're leaving, aren't you?"

The words reverberated through the room, echoing quietly off the walls. For a split second, Apollo considered lying again, doing everything she could to protect her love, but she knew that to do so again would be an insult to the blue-haired genius's intelligence. Instead, she hanged her head and nodded solemnly.

Apollo wasn't looking at her, but she could almost feel Ami getting the wind knocked out of her. The silence stretched on for what seemed like hours before Apollo said, "I told you this would happen someday."

"That doesn't make it any easier."

"I never said that, I just—"

"But I understand."

"You—you do?"

"Yes. I can't take it personally, and I can't pretend I wasn't expecting it, because you told me that you would one day leave for something you had to do." Ami happened to look up as she mentioned Apollo having to do something and caught a dark look crossing the blonde's face; it unnerved Ami, and she sensed a thought forming in the back of her mind, but before it could take on any logical form, Ami was falling onto her back and Apollo was on top of her. "This isn't the time for—"

"I know." Rolling off to the side, Apollo curled p against Ami and buried her head against the Mercurian's shoulder.

"Are you scared?" Ami whispered without thinking.

"Yes," came the muffled response. "I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't be, I just…This time…"

"It's all right." Ami turned on her side to face Apollo, intertwining her own legs with the older girl's and delicately kissing her on the lips.

Apollo sighed, "I hate being weak."

"You're not weak."

"I shouldn't be this scared about a military mission. I've done enough of them before."

"Maybe the mission itself isn't what you're scared of, then."

"What?" Her entire body tense, Apollo's mind started racing with questions: how did Ami know about Serenity's prophecy? Had she been eavesdropping? If she had, who else could have overheard their conversation?

"Maybe this time you just have a far greater inclination to stay."

"Oh," Apollo said tersely, relaxing. 'Of course, she thought it was just because I didn't want to leave _here_ not that I was scared of going _there_.' She looked back into Ami's eyes. "That must be it. I'm going to miss everyone so much, but I'm especially going to miss moments like this with you."

Their parted lips met, and within seconds, Ami was lying on top of Apollo, her shirt half off. Pulling up and away from Apollo's wanting lips, shivering as the blonde's hands crept further and further up her back, Ami asked, "When are you leaving?"

"I don't know," Apollo answered truthfully, bending upwards at the waist as she finally pulled off Ami's shirt. "But I want to be with you until I do." Off went the bra, and Apollo's mouth latched onto Ami's right nipple and started sucking gently.

"Yes, I wouldn't have it any other way." Ami breathed, running her hands through Apollo's hair before grabbing the back of the blonde's head and pushing it even closer to her breast. "Apollo?"

"Mmph?"

"Where are you going, anyway?"

Apollo detached herself from Ami's right nipple and made a move towards the left one. "The Sun," she responded, adding, before biting down on the other nipple, "I'm going home."


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3_

The tension was palpable between mother and daughter as Apollo stood silently in the Queen's bedchamber, waiting to lead her out to bid farewell to the army—and daughter—she was sending to near-certain death.

"Is everything prepared for launch?" Queen Serenity asked, pulling on a shawl over her shoulders.

"Yes, Mother."

"Has everyone been prepped about the mission?"

"Yes, Mother."

"Are all available means of communication online?"

"Yes, Mother."

Queen Serenity stopped and stared at her daughter, who was standing in a formal military posture, jaw set, looking straight ahead with unfocused eyes. A wave of sadness and regret washed over the Queen. "I wish there was some other way, Apollo, but you and I both know there isn't."

"Yes, Mother."

"Stop it!" Queen Serenity screamed. "Do you actually think I want to send you there?!"

"You seem to have never before had a problem with sending me on a suicide mission."

Queen Serenity looked dumbfounded. "How dare you!"

"How dare _you_."

"Me?" Queen Serenity threw up her arms. "ME?! You knew this would happen one day, Apollo!"

"First of all, today is not the first of such days, so those specific histrionics are irrelevant. Second," Apollo sat, finally focusing her eyes on her mother's face. "Just because I expected something, perhaps even accepted it, does not mean I have to be thoroughly ecstatic about it. So, no, Mother, I am not upset because you have authorized this mission. I am upset that you expected me to go quietly."

Queen Serenity sized up Apollo with a mixture of awe and contempt. 'What's so different this time?' she wondered, acutely aware of the fact that never before had Apollo been quite so defiant. 'Could Serenity have thrown a fit and made Apollo feel bad for leaving? Or could it be Apollo's rumored rela--?'

Nearly slapping her forehead in realization, Queen Serenity lithely moved forward and embraced her daughter. "Oh, Apollo, I know you'll miss her, but you'll be back before you know it."

"I doubt that," Apollo whispered under her breath, thinking back to what Serenity had told her. She realized her mother had overheard when the arms around her grew tighter, but the lack of a response made it clear to Apollo that her mother had interpreted the statement as only a cliché protest made by an indignant youth who was being forced away from her lover. 'Good,' Apollo thought, 'let her think it's all as simple as that.' Apollo wriggled out of her mother's grasp, once more set herself in a military pose, and said, "We really should get going."

"Yes, daughter," Queen Serenity answered, excited to see her oldest daughter finally crack a smile.

* * *

As Apollo dismounted her horse, which had brought not only her but also Queen Serenity's carriage to the military spaceport, she saw Endymion in front of her, helping Serenity out of their carriage. Pretending not to notice her twin stumble and fall out, Apollo scanned the grounds, covered almost entirely by military ships filled with anxious troops, and saw a small group of military members lined up in front of the base ship—her ship, Chariot—with the princesses in front of them, all clad in their respective senshi outfits, formed up in single file, visibly restless. Her eyes met Am's, but she quickly turned away, patting her horse affectionately. "Be a good boy while I'm gone, Atepomarus."

"Apollo?" asked a disembodied voice from within the carriage. Apollo ran to the carriage's door, put out her hand, palm up, and within seconds Queen Serenity was getting out, her right hand clasped firmly in Apollo's left. Upon reaching the ground, Queen Serenity, though she normally would have continued without any assistance, laced her fingers through Apollo's, thoroughly startling the Moon princess. "I love you, Apollo," Queen Serenity whispered.

"I love you too, Mother," Apollo answered, not a hint of bitterness or sarcasm in her voice.

The two women, mother and daughter, began walking forward in Serenity and Endymion's wake; the two had rushed to their spots on the side of the senshi, arguing all the way:

"We're late! Mom's going to be so angry at me!"

"Well, maybe if you hadn't taken that nap…"

"Well maybe you should have come woken me up!"

"How was I supposed to know you'd be sleeping?"

"You don't know me at all!"

Queen Serenity and Apollo both chuckled lightly, but their amusement was resoundingly quashed as they finally reached the beginning of the line of senshi, who were once more lined up in order of distance from the Sun.

After walking her mother into position at the head of the line, Apollo kissed Queen Serenity's hand, bowed slightly, and gave the increasingly pale Queen a sad smile before moving on to Serenity, who was crying hysterically. After quickly turning to Endymion and shaking his hand, Apollo then pulled her sister into a tight hug, cradling the back of the younger Moon princess's head as Serenity's tears dampened Apollo's uniformed shoulder. Thinking it prudent not to prolong the goodbye, Apollo kissed her sister's forehead and guided Serenity into Endymion's open and waiting arms.

The rest of the farewells, though not as tearful, were equally somber. All the senshi except Ami had been through this before, but the details of Orpheus's prophecy—as well as the fact that Apollo and Serenity's visions had supposedly confirmed said prophecy—had spread through the palace with a speed bestowed upon all good rumors and gossip, so each princess knew the danger to which Apollo and her troops could potentially be exposed. Thus the fear of never seeing their general, their friend again hung heavily over the senshi.

As Apollo moved onwards from her sister down the line, she suddenly felt gentle arms closing tightly around her waist, graceful hands caressing her back.

"Oh, Apollo." The arms squeezed tighter. "Fate is cruel to send you away again."

Glancing at Haruka, who had turned her head away, Apollo answered, "Thank you, Michiru."

"I'm going to miss you."

"And I, you."

Michiru finally let go of Apollo's waist and kissed the blonde's right cheek. "Take care of yourself out there."

Apollo smiled, nodded in thanks, and glanced at Haruka, who was, to Apollo's great relief, actually looking at her. The two women regarded each other for a long moment, until Haruka surprisingly reached out her hand and ruffled Apollo's hair. "Give 'em hell, kid."

"Will do," Apollo quipped as she and Haruka saluted each other before embracing roughly. Upon stepping back, Apollo had a split second to breathe her she felt someone throw herself around her midsection.

"Goodbye, princess," Hotaru sniffed, burying her tear-stained face against Apollo's uniform.

Grabbing Hotaru's shoulders and gently pushing her away, Apollo kneeled down to stare into the Saturn princess's eyes and whispered, "Be strong, little one. You know what you have to do while I am away."

Hotaru nodded solemnly. "Yes, I know."

"It is very important, Hotaru, remember that."

"Yes, Princess."

"All right, enough with the formalities. Come here." Apollo enveloped Hotaru in a big bear hug, rocking the younger girl side-to-side before letting go and getting up, patting Hotaru on the head as she moved on to Rei and Minako, both of whom playfully saluted then pulled Apollo into a group hug.

"Don't do anything stupid," Rei said, covertly lacing her words with a protective incantation.

"Yeah, don't do anything I would do," Minako added, and the three women giggled.

Apollo lowered her voice and said, "Will you two please take care of Ami?"

"Of course," they answered in unison.

"I'll miss you both," Apollo wriggled out of their collective grasp. "Stay out of trouble…unless it involved pissing off my sister, of course."

Finally, Apollo had reached Ami. The awkward silence that bore down on them made Apollo wish Ami had taken her advice and not joined the other senshi in seeing off herself and the troops. "Ami, I—"

With uncharacteristic swiftness and resolve, Ami lifted herself up onto the balls of her feet and kissed Apollo firmly on the lips for a full minute before breaking away, throwing one arm around Apollo's neck, and shoving something into her lover's left side-pocket.

"What is--?"

"Write in it so you don't forget anything. I want to hear about all of it when you return." And with equal abruptness, Ami stepped back into her position, deliberately avoiding Apollo's gaze.

Confused, Apollo nonetheless sense that nothing more was to pass between them. Pushing Ami's gift further into her pocket, Apollo, in her haste to hide her tears, forgot to salute the formation and instead rushed off to the opened entrance platform that beckoned her onto Chariot. Just as she was halfway up the platform, Apollo heard someone call her name and pivoted around, gleefully expecting Ami to be running towards her, intent on joining the mission despite the oath she had made to stay at and protect the Moon.

Instead, the person running up the platform to her, pearl white dress flapping behind her, was the very person Ami's oath applied to. For one brief moment, Apollo was disappointed, hating her sister for being the Chosen One, the one who was never forced to leave anyone, the one with whom everyone stayed.

But once her twin had reached her, Serenity's delicate frame thrown against Apollo's robust one, any bitterness Apollo may have been harboring disappeared instantly, replaced only with an immediate need to speak. "Serenity."

"Please, Apollo, please be careful, I know what I saw, and—"

"You love me?"

"Yes! Of course! You're my sister! I will always love you!"

"Thank you."

Before Serenity could respond, Apollo pushed her backwards, causing Serenity to stumble off the platform. Apollo ran up to Chariot's hangar, calling out for the platform to be raised for take-off.

Shocked by what they had just seen happen between the two Moon princesses, the people on the ground watched Serenity flailing her arms hysterically at the rising ship, only walking back towards the other princesses when she saw the ship's boosters began warming up in preparation for ascent into space. Suddenly, Serenity stopped, jaw dropped, staring at a spot just beyond the line of senshi.

"Shit, we're late!" someone yelled, and everyone turned away from Chariot just as it took off into the cosmos, following Serenity's gaze to find Setsuna and Makoto standing before them, guilty expressions on their faces.


	4. A quick note

* * *

Ok, so here's the deal. 

I've been extremely busy as of late and have thus had very little time to work on the story. But there are a few things going on.

First, Chapter 4 is done. I have to make just one continuity edit, type it up, and it's ready to go. And, trust me, I want to put it up as soon as possible because it really brings in almost all the other senshi, which I haven't yet done.

Second, half of Chapter 5 is done. It definitely takes the story in a darker, more complex direction, so I am predictably stuck on a pivotal scene that figures prominently in the overall narrative (and will serve as the springboard for one senshi's story arc). It's frustrating because I really want to delve into the meat of the story, but I can't do that unless I establish this one scene and all its ramifications. Yeah.

Third, I finally decided to change the senshi's names. While I had considered doing so for "Refract," I didn't because I thought it would be confusing; I didn't initially change the names for "Twilight" for the same reason. But now that I am faced with adding in family members for each respective senshi, I see that it will be extremely difficult to continue using their Japanese names. Instead, I have assigned each senshi a Greco-Roman (or, in one case, Etruscan) name based on their mythological origins. The names are as follows:

Apollo: Selene Apollo

Serenity[Usagi: Selene Serenity

Ami: Mercury Maia

Rei: Mars Alala

Minako: Venus Cytherea  
Makoto: Jupiter Tonans   
Hotaru: Saturn Adonia

Michiru: Neptune Melia

Haruka: Uranus Caela

Setsuna: Pluto Aita

Endymion: Gaia Endymion

The double names are part of a subsidiary plot point, and each character will be referred to by their second name. And, yes, I know that the name Serenity was itself a play on Selene, but that double name will be explained.

Also, some people might have triple names, but you'll find out who that is.

I will go back and change the names in the first three chapters, and I will include a handy reference list in the next few chapters so you all can know who's who.

So, yeah, I apologize for the long delay, but I promise I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible.

Cheers,

sylie


End file.
